Tapping Into Culture and Sponsorships to Build Strong Brand Equity

You’ll be speaking at the upcoming ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference. What advice would you give to other brands looking to authentically engage with multicultural audiences.

It’s important to reach these consumers authentically, with programs, partnerships and marketing geared towards their specific needs, interests and desires. You must consider the consumers’ perspective and account for varying cultural nuances, including how they view your company and your product through the lens of their experience.

For instance, diverse consumers lack trust in financial institutions, and for good reason. Historically, and especially for Black consumers, banks have not been viewed as places that support the community in building wealth. We’ve been working hard to help solve  things like access to capital, the gap in homeownership rates among Black and Hispanic consumers vs. their white counterparts, and how to support multicultural customers in building generational wealth. An example of this is through our Access Business initiative which pairs Business Access Advisors placed in key multicultural markets, with small businesses owners from underserved communities, to support them with networking connections, capital, and technical assistance to help sustain and grow their business.

You have quite a few meaningful partnerships in the multicultural market including creation of the Translators documentary film. How do you identify potential partners?

At U.S. Bank, we believe that language is a form of access, and our mission is to break barriers while creating accessible avenues of communication among all communities, which is why we partnered with director Rudy Valdez to bring this shared experience to life through the Translators documentary. You can view the film at translatorsfilm.com.

U.S. Bank is fully embedded in the communities we serve, and our bankers recognized that many customers rely on family members, their children, to help them communicate in English. This is why we’ve worked to assure that we have translated materials, printed and online, along with bankers and our phone operators, that can work with customers in their preferred language. We know that this experience witnessed by our bankers is not unique, there are over 11 million child translators in the United States.

This film brings visibility to this reality that is shared by so many in this country and we are committed to providing tools and resources that help alleviate the burden of the language barrier, providing increased access to our customers:

We launched Asistente Inteligente, the first-ever Spanish-speaking voice assistant for banking. With it, so many of our Spanish-speaking customers will finally be able to speak for themselves when it comes to banking.

What advice do you have for marketers as they look to build deeper connections and drive results through multicultural marketing?

Understanding that all population growth in the U.S. over the next 40 years is from multicultural populations, it is a business imperative to reach and engage with these communities with authentic and relevant communication that addresses their specific needs.

Engage media partners, agencies and internal talent that have a deep understanding of diverse audiences and can deliver your brand message with nuance and cultural queues that show customers that you understand them and support their goals.

How has U.S. Bank’s involvement with the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance reinforced your commitment to community engagement and social responsibility?

At U.S. Bank, we believe culture is driving commerce. We are proud to sponsor the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance with the New York Times, celebrating the Black community’s talent and perseverance. This sponsorship includes two zines: one on wealth, published in July, and another on culture, set for December. These zines aim to spark a national dialogue on the Harlem Renaissance’s impact on today’s Black entrepreneurs, artists, and communities.

This initiative aligns with our U.S. Access Commitment®, which focuses on closing the wealth gap for underserved communities. Through partnerships like Operation Hope, we provide financial education and support, placing Goals Coaches in key multicultural areas to help customers achieve their financial goals. Our involvement in this anniversary underscores our dedication to community engagement and social responsibility.

What’s on your wish list for future consideration? Are there specific categories or areas you’re exploring?

Yes, we used AI tools for our most recent brand campaign which we launched earlier this year.

Banking is not the same as it was even six months ago, but U.S. Bank remains steadfast in our mission to power the potential of our clients utilizing a curated but innovative approach. There is much potential for AI in banking and the future is yet to be written. As we explore, innovate, and test the emerging technologies and use cases, we are taking a responsible and measured approach, ensuring we have the right processes and protocols in place to maximize the opportunities enabled by this technology while protecting our clients, employees and the company.

U.S. Bank has always offered state of the art and innovative ways to bank for each and every customer. We are committed to putting client experience first, by leveraging technology that helps our diverse customer base.

At U.S. Bank, we see technology as a tool to enhance our human capabilities. In our field, human creativity is paramount, and technology should be used to empower our teams to be more creative, efficient, and effective.

Given our commitment to innovation and technology, it only makes sense that our next goal is to find ways to harness the power of AI across all factors of our business. We are using AI not just for the sake of doing so, but to solve problems, enable new experiences and unlock efficiencies that power human potential – and have numerous successful examples of practical applications.

Experimentation within our marketing teams is a key component of the overall process. We should always be open to trying new things, learning from our experiences, and continuously improving and innovating.

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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.